Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, the founder of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, called Friday’s Appeal Court ruling that dismissed Abba Yusuf as governor of Kano State a “rude shock.”
Aniebonam maintained that the NNPP, not the courts, is the only body that may choose its members in response to the court decision that declared Yusuf’s election victory to be illegitimate.
In a statement released on Saturday, he stated, “I do know that only the NNPP and its members can determine who is a member of the party.”
“I am also aware that a party or its members have the authority to admit someone into the party and forgo their right to run for office and represent the party in elections.
“I also understand and think that the only person who can dispute the party’s membership in an election is someone who ran for nomination under the NNPP.
“On the other hand, nobody else is entitled to voice an objection.”
According to the NNPP founder, any candidate might be sponsored by the party by being granted permission to run for office on its platform.
Aniebonam insisted that only competitor candidates who ran for the nomination had the authority to oppose a candidate’s NNPP membership.
The leader of the Nigerian National Party (NNPP) urged party members and Kano people to be optimistic despite the legal challenge, even as they hoped for justice to win at the Supreme Court.
“We are optimistic that the Supreme Court will rule in good time.
“Under these preventable circumstances, I hereby encourage all members of our great party and indeed the indigenous people of Kano in particular to keep faith with God’s final decision,” he declared.
Yusuf’s victory was declared void on Friday by the Appeal Court, which affirmed a previous decision that he wasn’t a NNPP member at the time of the election.
As a result, it recognized Nasiru Gawuna of the APC as the legitimately elected governor.
Yusuf, who was elected in May via a run-off election, now has an uncertain future because of his most recent legal setback. It is anticipated that the NNPP would file a Supreme Court appeal of the ruling.
